Archive for the ‘ATHS’ tag

Whether you are a fan of street rods or classic trucks, Springfield, Missouri, is the place to be over the last two weekends in May.

Up first is the 31st annual NSRA Mid-America Street Rod Nationals Plus Meet. This will be the 20th year the event has taken place in Springfield, and more than 2,000 street rods, customs, muscle cars, and pickups are scheduled to attend. Then, after a little clean-up, the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds will host the American Truck Historical Society’s annual meet the following weekend. Hundreds of 1900 to 1989 big rigs and early high-wheel trucks will be on hand, and tours will be offered to the Peterbilt factory and several truck suspension and tanker manufacturers.

The Mid-America Street Rod National Meet will be open from Friday, May 23, to Sunday, May 25. To get further details, visit NSRA-USA.com. The ATHS annual meet will take place from Tuesday, May 27, to Saturday, May 31. For more information, visit ATHS.org.

If you enjoy trucking history, you need to get acquainted with the American Truck Historical Society, for a couple of solid reasons. First off, the ATHS publishes an excellent magazine, Wheels of Time. And also, they organize a remarkable national show, the trucking world’s equivalent of Hershey, which takes place in various parts of the country.

This year’s ATHS National Convention and Antique Truck Show takes place May 30 to June 1 at the Yakima Valley SunDome/State Fair Park in Yakima, Washington. We’ve included, courtesy of the ATHS, images of last year’s event, held on the East Coast in West Springfield, Massachusetts. As you can readily see, it’s huge. Hundreds of trucks (at least 25 years old) are in attendance, a number that should be even bigger in Yakima because this year, the National Association of Show Trucks is holding its own big meet in conjunction with the ATHS show, a first.

Form a mental image of touring on the remaining, historic sections of U.S. Route 66 and the players might include Fifties iron with Continental kits, full-dress Harleys or hot rods. We’re here to inform you that trucks belong, too. In fact, Route 66 was first laid out as a route for heavy interstate commerce between Los Angeles and the Midwest. Some of America’s earliest long-haul trucking took place along 66′s crowned, two-lane pavement.

We were excited to learn that the American Truck Historical Society is organizing a rally, of sorts, for restored and historic trucks. The Historic Highway Convoy will run from September 6-15, from Illinois westbound to California, coinciding with the 40th birthday of Travel Centers of America. Daily truck shows will take place at each of nine T/A or Petro truck stops that will serve as waypoints along the route. The convoy’s end will coincide with the annual Route 66 Rendezvous in San Bernardino, California, on September 15. Kansas City-based ATHS is the largest antique truck club in the United States; you can learn more about the event, and how to register a truck to participate, by visiting ATHS.org.

Gene Herman seems to be our guy for heavy-hauling trucks lately. After sending us the photos of the 1929 Coleman 5-ton that he spotted a couple of weeks back, he took in the American Truck Historical Society‘s show at the Big E in Springfield, Massachusetts, and sent over this batch of photos of trucks that caught his eye, starting with the 1938 Diamond T Model 406 Deluxe tanker truck above. Deluxe, by the way, was not an understatement:

Here’s the dashboard of the same tanker truck, showing why the trucks earned the nickname “the Cadillac of trucks,” as Gene noted. “I think it resembles the dashboards found in Auburns of the era.”

A few more Diamond Ts, from left to right: “an enormous late 1950s 950, a very rare truck even when it was new; a Model 201 in an unusual color and owned by Ray Haluch of Ludlow, Massachusetts; another Model 201 owned by Robert “Brocky” Brock; and another rare and handsome unit, this time a 1958 922DF.”

“A 1922 White Model 45 five-ton owned by Tim Hoover of Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, with some cautionary words at the back of the tanker in the days long before OSHA.”

Another White Model 45 five-ton owned by Tim Hoover, this one a 1921.

“Left, a 1924 Federal X-4 owned by Lawrence Sipperly of Albany, New York, and next to it was another 1924 Fed, but this time a Model W-2190 owned Vincent Lepera of Troy, New York. These are the earliest examples of this make that I’ve ever seen.”

Northeast truck enthusiasts are gearing up for the American Truck Historical Society’s 2012 National Convention at the Eastern States Exposition, in West Springfield, Massachusetts. Typically, these events draw upwards of 10,000 attendees and a huge variety of light- and heavy-duty trucks.

Early registration and check-in will begin on Tuesday, May 29, while the show and swap meet officially kicks off on Thursday, May 31, and runs through Saturday. On Saturday, there will also be an antique truck auction at the outdoor arena. Starting Sunday, trucks will depart West Springfield for a two-day convoy across New York and into Canada. After an overnight in Plattsburgh, New York, Sunday night, the convoy will head to Kempville, Ontario, Canada, to visit George Tackaberry’s collection of antique vehicles.

The 2012 ATHS National takes place May 31 to June 2. For more information, truck on over to ATHS.org.

The biggest hoedown, bar none, in the world of truck collecting is the annual National Convention and Antique Truck Show organized by the American Truck Historical Society. Each gathering has been followed up by a professionally produced DVD that not only depicts old trucks on a show field, but goes an extra step and captures the sound and motion of these old rigs, sensations that do so much to define old trucks.

The ATHS has issued, as a single volume, a DVD set compiling all the action at each convention it held from 1995 through 2005, a parade that stretches from Fontana, California, to Syracuse, New York. The postpaid price is $100. Visit www.aths.org or call 816-891-9900.

Hard to believe, but 2011 will mark 40 years since the guy who’s never seen, inside the cab of the oil-blackened Peterbilt 351 tanker, tried to murder Dennis Weaver during a harrowing chase through Soledad Canyon in California. The pursuit was the entire plot of Duel, the ABC Movie of the Week made for TV that put Steven Spielberg on the map.

Only one of the Peterbilt trucks used in the film project has survived, and this one was used mainly in filming in additional scenes to support Duel’s post-ABC theatrical release (the original truck that terrorized star Dennis Weaver is apparently the one that went over the cliff). After changing hands several times, it’s now in the collection of truck collector Brad Wike, and will form the centerpiece of his annual ATHS Virginia-Carolina Truck Show on Saturday. It runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Wike farm in Lincolnton, North Carolina. Think anyone will bring a red four-door Plymouth Valiant?

While searching for a few parts last week, I spoke to my friend Mike at Mike’s Auto Parts in Ridgeland, Mississippi, who filled me in on the ATHS national convention and meet in Huntsville, Alabama, on the last weekend in May. More than 500 trucks attended the show, slightly down from the 550 that attended last years event, but the caliber of restored pickups and big rigs more than made up for the fewer numbers. Mike tracked down not one but two 1959 Diamond T trucks with the Hall-Scott LP gas option that was offered from the dealer in that model year. Hall-Scott has had an interesting history in many different vehicles, including airplanes and boats. Ford depot hacks and Chevrolet Cameo pickups shared the same display field with Reos, Whites, Macks and Freightliners. Next year’s national convetion will be held in Pleasanton, California, on May 27th-29th at the Alameda County Fairgorunds.Â Ed Lucast, the moderator of the ATHS website posted hundreds of pictures in their online discussion forum in theÂ ”truck show photos” section.Â Lots of really neat trucks pictured there.